A unique Lambeth festival will bring artists, activists, psychologists and stand-up comedians together to transmit a powerful message of support for survivors of sexual assault.
Clear Lines aims to create a space where people feel comfortable talking about sexual assault and consent in a non-confrontational way.
The public have come out in force in support of the festival, smashing the original £3,500 fundraiser targets and donating a massive £7,220 in just 35 days.
“It started over a coffee morning in April, on the exact anniversary of my own assault seven years ago,” co-founder of the festival Winnie M Li told SWL.
Ms Li, 36, a writer and producer, worked closely with fellow co-founder Dr Nina Burrowes as well as survivors, social workers and therapists to develop the festival.
“We want to create a friendlier space that’s geared towards change,” she said.
Over the course of four days, from July 30 to August 2, artists, performers and a panel of experts will gather at Old Paradise Yard in Lambeth North.
The Lambeth-based festival co-founder said an event like Clear Lines was needed to replace the shame and silence attached to rape with understanding and community.
“A lot of people feel ashamed just because I think society has this idea that if you’re a rape survivor it should be kept quiet, we’re trying to reverse that in a lot of ways,” Ms Li said.
The festival also takes on a new approach when talking about people, both men and women, who have been victims of sexual assault.
“If we use the word survivor that’s a more positive word, even though ‘victim’ indicates the huge impact rape can have on someone’s life,” said Ms Li.
“It’s about how to make that transition from one to the other.”
That message of transition is a key element of the Clear Lines – it is an opportunity to overturn negative myths, ignorance or misconceptions about sexual assault, its causes and affects on lives.
Part of that transition, and perhaps the most controversial, is talking about rape is though a healthy dose of laughter.
The festival’s comedy night, curated by stand-up comedian Tiff Stevenson, is one of the most interesting, but also most compelling.
“People’s immediate reaction is ‘you can’t have a comedy night about rape’, but the whole point of the festival is that we want to approach the topic in all different ways,” said Ms Li.
“Yes, this is a serious topic, but you can have a conversation about it that uses creativity.”
One artist in particular also focuses on the transitional use of rape from Greek and Roman myth into modern society.
Ela Xora, a transgender mask maker, aural and visual artist, will exhibit her painting The Caenis Complex based on one of the characters in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The painting is based on Ovid’s protagonist Caenis who, following her assault, wished to be transformed into the male warrior Caeneus.
“I think this story stuck with me because it’s almost like a common thread and can lead to certain women becoming more masculine after they’ve been raped,” said Ealing-based Ela.
“I knew friends who had gone through a similar thing, they were so horrified and traumatized by the event that they wanted to get away from men and defend themselves against them
“I don’t want the idea to be beautiful, but unfortunately society is quite shallow, I want to seduce people into the story, but then think of what I’m trying to say.”
Following two disastrous eye operations four years ago Xora started wearing masks as a replacement for make-up.
Soon masks became the foundation to her artwork using crushed precious metals like fine silver.
With such a remarkable line up of it is surprising that the Clear Lines Festival has only been in the making for three months, but three months of intense effort.
Sexual assault and consent are issues many people avoid or ignore, many also try to normalise those tragedies rather than admitting what happened to them.
One woman is about to change that, she’s helping survivors turn tragedies into something triumphant.
